Beacon of Hope
by leeto
Summary: The year is 2556. The Human-Covenant War is over, and a relative peace exists now between the Sangheili and the Humans. And while the Jiralhanae begin their war of revenge on the Sangheili, a distress beacon's signal arrives at Chicago Station...
1. Beacon of Hope

_Disclaimer: I own no rights to the Halo Franchise._

_Author's Notes: I'll try to keep this quick. I made this quick short chapter as a sort of pilot to a concept I have. Hopefully you'll get a good gist of what I'm going for here, and you'll continue to read and review the subsequent updates. I'll also go for slightly longer chapter lengths based on reader response and how well it is received. Thanks!_

**The year is 2556. The Covenant-Human War is over. And at a Chicago Station, a beacon of hope has arrived…**

**Chicago Station, UNSC Airspace**

Lord Terrence Hood leaned closer forward, viewing the data poring onto the monitor. It has been nearly five years since the destruction of the replacement Installation 04 at the Ark, and supposedly with Master Chief on it. Could it really be? "Play it again, we have to be sure…"

"Yes sir," The signals officer ran through the distress signal again. Just like the past three times, the old, familiar voice of Cortana played through the speakers. "This is Cortana, the year is 2552. Spartan-117 designation Master Chief and I are drifting through space on the _Forward Unto Dawn_, requesting rescue. I repeat, the Master Chief is alive."

Hood began to laugh. Of course, how could they assume Master Chief was dead? He was after all, Master Chief. "Alright, I want a tracking of where this signal came from. We need to find out the trajectory of the spaceship, it couldn't have gone too far the damn thing is floating along in outer space! We lost a lot of good men because of the Covenant, and finally, a beacon of hope, one of those good men might not be dead after all. Collins, get Thel 'Vadam on the phone, let's see what kind of allies these aliens are."

Lord Hood left the communications room and began the walk up the corridor to his office. After the war he chose to move his base of operations to the Chicago Station so he could feel closer to home. Sure, it really didn't matter because he was in space, but the thought of it at least made him comfortable. As he entered his office, another junior officer greeted him, this time holding the phone.

"Sir, the Sangheili Ambassador is ready to speak to you."

"Thank you, you may leave now. Thel 'Vadam, is this you?"

A deep voice replied to him on the phone. "Well, strictly speaking my Earth name is now Theodore, but yes it is I Admiral Hood."

"Ugh, yes, well, it is quite hard to call an alien by the same name as my Grandfather. I have a favor to ask of your men in rescuing a soldier lost in space. I think you may recognize him."

"Well, times are hard right now for the Sangheili to be honest, if you have not heard we are at war with the Jiralhanae, it is taking a significant amount of our time and manpower to conduct this war. Who is this soldier you speak of?"

"It's Master Chief. He's alive."

Theodore paused long enough for Hood to notice. "The demon…is alive? How can this be so, I saw with my own eyes! His ship was caught on the other side of slipspace, the Installation was exploding behind him!"

Hood replied, "Yes, well, it wouldn't be the first time we all thought he was dead. I'm sending you the coordinates now. His ship is drifting, but my boys here have laid out the trajectory of where his ship should be based on the location of the distress signal."

"Okay, yes I see it now coming up on my screen," Theodore used his alien hands to overlay the trajectory over his own star map of the area. When he finally matched the two together, he did what could only be perceived by Lord Hood as an alien gasp. "Admiral Hood, I am not sure how this news will bode with you, but it would appear that Master Chief's ship is bound to crash-land on one of Doisac's moons in one week."

"Doisac…the Brute homeworld? You're shitting me. You got any birds in the area that can help us with a rescue?"

"I wish I was…but my star map does not lie. I am sorry, but the most I can give you in terms of help is the coordinates. It is too early in the war for me to send a taskforce to the Jiralhanae homeworld to assist you. We are fighting in too many places at once as it is, the Sangheili Council would never approve such a thing. I am sorry."

"Just my luck. Ok, send 'em coordinates over." Lord Hood ended the call, and buried his face into his hands. A man named Master Chief saved Earth 5 years ago. The least they could do is try to rescue him. He sighed at the bad timing of it all. Those Brutes had to go picking a fight again, didn't they? He couldn't be too surprised, he wouldn't be too happy either if their megalomaniacal beliefs were destroyed right before their eyes. The Elites were busy with their fight, and he had a military to rebuild. They won the Human-Covenant War, but at an enormous cost. It would take many more years before the UNSC be back at 100%. He picked up the phone again and dialed communications. "Yes, have you triangulated the beacon yet? Yes? Good, send a message, the cavalry are coming and that damned Master Chief better be alive and kicking when he gets back." Master Chief was a hero to him, to the UNSC, and to Earth. Master Chief had to be alive. And that, they had to believe.

_**Forward Unto Dawn,**_** Oth Sonin System**

_Messaged received: "I repeat, help is on the way."_

_Transmitting message: "Roger that, Master Chief and I awaiting your arrival. It took you boys long enough."_

_Transmission End_

_Commencing Cryotube Revival Process_

"Hey buddy, wake up, time to go home." Cortana began to project herself on the holodeck of the Cryotube, and waited.


	2. Justice Awaken

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Halo Franchise.

Author's Notes: I've had little experience with naval and space battles, so I thought I'd start the novel with one early on to get the hang of it. If anyone has any tips for space battle writing, I'd greatly appreciate them!

_**Justice Awaken, **_**Sangheili Carrier, Ishitar Airspace**

"Thank you council for letting me appear before you today, it is not often I am able to work in a safe zone in these trying times," Thel 'Vadam spoke to the hologram projection of the Sangheili Council in his quarters. He was almost positive they would not grant him permission to proceed with a rescue operation of the demon, but he felt a certain cling to the human. Both of them were essentially alone during the Human-Covenant War, leaders of their troops yet isolated because of it. He owed it to the demon to at least try, he was an honorable warrior after all.

The High Councilor stood up a little straighter, his nobility emanating strongly even through the small hologram projection. "We have reviewed your appeal Thel 'Vadam. We understand you are proud of your position of Joint Military Ambassador between us and the humans, but to conduct an operation like this? Surely we must have our own priorities first."

"I understand High Councilor, but the operation will have merit for our war as well. It will be risky, sending a task force to Teash. But disruption there, at their main military base of operations, can prove to be a tremendous victory on our part. Forgive me for being blunt, but in our current state we cannot afford to fight a prolonged war."

"Thel 'Vadam, you have helped lead our people in the darkest of times. During your time as Arbiter you truly succeeded in bringing honor to the Vadam name, and for this we respect you. But this operation you have proposed is something we cannot afford to do, we can't have one of our best officers sending his squadrons on what might be a suicide mission! Besides, the Jiralhanae have not been a problem to us so far. We are containing them to as little fronts as possible, and our perimeters are impenetrable. There is no rush to attack Teash."

Thel 'Vadam looked down for a moment, trying to control his emotion. Proud, old councilors. The High Council is too kind: he has seen the frontlines themselves, and morale is slowly beginning to break, it's only a matter of time before the Jiralhanae are able to breach into the inner colonies. Thel only wished they could see it the way he does. As if on cue, the alert rang through the _Justice Awaken_. "RED ALERT: This is Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum, a Jiralhanae Cruiser has just entered Ishitar Airspace through slipspace. All units to battle positions: I repeat, battle positions!" Thel 'Vadam looked at the councilors in the projector: no further words were needed to prove the increased aggressiveness of their enemy. He closed the hologram and ran to the bridge.

Corridor after corridor, Thel 'Vadam watched as Sangheili pilots rushed to their hangars, preparing for liftoff. Reaching the bridge, he found his friend Rtas looking over the battle map. "Rtas my friend, how does it look?"

Rtas took a moment to acknowledge Thel, then went back to the map. "It's one cruiser, Battleship classification. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. But we're not even on front lines, our hangars aren't full and the whole Carrier is really only on reserve duty right now. This may be trouble if we do not pull it together quickly."

"Rtas, do not be troubled. We have been in worse situations before. Zoom in on the cruiser, every ship has a weakspot."

Rtas 'Vadum moved the projection, centering and zooming in on the enemy cruiser. He walked around the projection until he found what he as looking for. "There is your weakspot Thel, an exposed area in the midsection. The energy shields don't seem to cover this part here. But what can that small section do? It will take awhile to destroy their shields with our firepower, and our cruisers are on the other side of the planet and will need more time to reach us."

Thel pulled up a blueprint of the enemy's cruiser battleship. "Look, there. If our blueprints are correct attacks to that exposed midsection will damage the shield generators as well. We can get the shields down in time for our cruisers to score direct hits on the battleship. My squadron will go, provide us cover with the rest of the squadrons!" Thel 'Vadam rushed out of the bridge and to his launch bay where the rest of his squad awaited him.

Rtas connected to the commlines of the small fleet. "Our objective is to provide cover and support to Silver Squadron. Bronze and Gold Squadrons are to scatter and intercept enemy fighters, all carrier weaponry focus on clearing a path to the midsection of the enemy cruiser! Contact range in 2 minutes!"

As the cruiser approached closer to the _Justice Awaken_, Rtas focused his view on the bridge's viewing port. The Jiralahane Battleship Cruiser was smaller than his carrier, but the firepower on it was enough to cause him trouble if he wasn't careful. "Hold the nose directed toward the cruiser, keep as small a target as possible. All lasers should be prioritized to defense, if we let too many torpedoes hit us we're as good as dead!" The enormous carrier strained to tilt itself in the correct direction. His goal wasn't to destroy the cruiser himself, but to give Thel 'Vadam enough time to get his job done. Hopefully there'd still be some of _Justice Awaken_ for him to come back to.

"T-minus 10 seconds until contact! Prepare defensive lasers!" Rtas watched as the enemy cruiser loomed just outside of firing range. Had the battleship still been fitted to old Covenant standards, the _Justice Awaken_ would've already been decimated by energy projectors. Luckily, the savage Jiralhanae chose a more primitive weapon, instead carrying a loadout of dozens of torpedo pods. Rtas reckoned this at least gave them a fighting chance.

Rtas watched the distance close, then gave the signal. "Contact distance reached, all weapons are go, all squads scramble!" The relatively quiet space was instantly filled with weaponry. Scores of torpedoes screamed out of the Jiralhanae cruiser, as the _Justice Awaken's _lasers met them in space, destroying them before they could reach their intended targets. The Sangheili's Seraph Starfighters weaved through the large weapons fire, meeting with the Jiralhanae equivalents, Vultures. The Gold and Bronze Squadrons swooped into the battlefield from the flanks, creating a deadly crossfire. The Vulture had superior firepower, but they were nothing to the agility and finesse of the Seraphs and their pilots. One by one the Vultures were picked off. Thel 'Vadam led his Silver Squadron through the mess. "Silver, dive under the laser fire! Maintain evasive maneuvers, we must reach the Cruiser!" The group of Seraphs orchestrated their movements as best they could, trying to avoid attracting attention and dogfights. A stray explosion as a Jiralhanae torpedo met a laser shot from the _Justice Awaken_ rocked the Seraph beside Thel's, forcing the other pilot out of position to avoid colliding with the squadron and fell into the path of another torpedo. The explosion shot debris everywhere, while Silver Squadron attempted to regroup into formation.

Thel's radar picked up incoming Vultures, aware they were trying to break out of the fight. "Our sneak around has failed, alpha team is with me, intercept the Vultures! Bravo team proceed to the objective, we have to take out those generators!" Thel broke from formation and was followed by 4 other Seraphs, while the rest of them sped towards the cruiser's weakspot. Two Vultures instantly tailed Thel's ship. Performing a steep climb, Thel waited for the two to follow him, and then he cut his engines. He watched as the two assailants flew past him, and then began to turn the engines on again. A quick burst of his lasers clipped one Vulture spinning it towards the Ishitar atmosphere where it burned up. He chased the second Vulture through the warzone, narrowly avoiding one of _Justice Awaken's_ lasers. Thel 'Vadam launched a volley of missiles at the vulture, hitting it square in the engines. Thel began to loop back to help finish off the rest of the Vultures, while asking on the comm., "Bravo team, what's your status?"

"Silver leader this is Bravo leader, we are approaching the weakspot, launching missiles in thirty seconds. Requesting support, they've got turrets, they're keeping us from keeping a steady bead!"

"Roger that Bravo leader, Alpha, prepare air-to-surface weapons, take out the turrets!" Thel pulled up again, narrowly avoiding flying headfirst into a Vulture. Right after he was passed by a pursuing Seraph, lasers firing, quickly followed by the sound of an exploding Vulture. Thel checked his missiles; he had just enough to clear a path for Bravo team. Getting an alert of an enemy lock-on, he performed a quick barrel roll, as the missile careened right past his Seraph's right wing, exploding harmlessly in front of him. A supporting Alpha team Serpah swept in from his side, quickly taking out the Vulture that was pursing him. As soon as the ding signifying a lock came in, Thel launched his last volley of missiles at the turrets. His own were soon followed by volleys by the rest of Alpha team. They hit the ship with a satisfying boom, as the explosive missiles turned the laser turrets into giant bombs. "Bravo team you are clear to go proceed with the objective!"

Pulling up, Thel was able to see Bravo squadron unleashing a deadly volley of torpedoes and laser fire at the weakpoint. The ones that missed deflected or exploded off the cruiser's high energy shield, but those on target rammed through the metal with a sickening crunch and a satisfying explosion. Thel pulled down his commlines to contact the bridge. "Rtas this is Thel, the objective has been executed, confirm the shields are down."

Rtas checked his readings, "Roger that Thel, the shields are down, all Seraphs return to launch bays, you won't want to be around that thing when we blow it up. _Retribution _and _Blood Sword,_ what is your position?"

The two Sangheili cruisers, reported in, they were just within striking distance. The lone Jiralhanae cruiser was trapped: there was no escape now. Rtas gave the command, "All power to forward weapons, fire at will!" Legions of torpedoes and laser fire beamed out towards the enemy cruiser, now defenseless because of the crippled energy generators. It stood no chance: Rtas 'Vadum watched as the cruiser got torn apart, explosions rippling everywhere, even catching some of the escape pods in their blasts. All in all it was a sound victory, with only few starfighter losses.

Thel 'Vadam saw from his Serpah as the Jiralhanae cruiser began to fall out of orbit, the remaining pieces burning up in the atmosphere of Ishitar. It was an easy battle, in fact he wondered what the Jiralhanae were doing, jumping a single cruiser to Ishitar, a fairly small Sangheili colony. But the important thing was that the Jiralhanae were getting aggressive. An unprovoked jump into the middle of Sangheili airspace could only mean they have something up there sleeve. Thel pondered on the thought for a moment, and a message from the council popped up on his ship's monitor.

The urgency of this war is now fully understood. Proceed to rescue Spartan-117 and infiltrate the Teash military facility at your discretion.

Thel opened his commline again. "Rtas, let's get this carrier back to frontline capacity. We're going on a trip. It's time we paid a visit to an old friend."


End file.
